Why Cooking Matters with Sarah Nelson of 18 Reasons

Unwasted: The Podcast

Ever wish you could improve your home cooking skills? Sarah Nelson has built a career around teaching people like you how to cook at 18 Reasons, a food nonprofit organization in San Francisco.

Through her work, she’s learned dozens of actionable tips and tricks that anyone can use to become a better cook and include healthy foods in your diet in a way that’s fun, sustainable, and delicious. We discuss how to overcome common roadblocks to cooking at home like not having enough time, money, or the right equipment.

Sarah shares practical tips she’s learned from teaching hundreds of cooking classes on how to shop smarter, stock a pantry, make better meal plans, and make cooking a lasting habit for you and your family. She also shares her kitchen hot takes on why we should all use more salt, eat beans more often, have painters tape in the kitchen, and never use half a bunch of herbs. Sarah ends the episode by sharing some excellent tips for parents about impactful ways to get your kids to help in the kitchen, eat more vegetables and waste less food!

This episode truly has something for everyone, from the kitchen novice to the hardcore food nerd, and everyone in between!

Show Notes

• You can learn more about 18 Reasons on their website
• Sarah works closely with the folks at BiRite Market in San Francisco
• Sarah teaches a lot of classes on knife skills and highly recommends the claw grip for cutting vegetables
• Sarah is a huge fan of her rice cooker and recommends that everyone get one with a timer
• Sarah’s go-to comfort food is ribs, and she’s a big fan of slow cooking them in the oven with beer and Mexican spices!
• Sarah’s go-to karaoke song at the end of the night is “The Tide is High” by Blondie
• Sarah really admires the founder of BiRite Market, Sam Mogannam